1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus ofr the loading of grocery bags and, more particularly, pertains to a novel frame structure for the dispensing and loading of individual grocery bags in a grocery store environment.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A traditional and long-accepted method for packaging merchandise, such as groceries at the check-out counters of grocery stores, has involved the loading of individual paper bags, a process which is oftentimes inefficient, time-consuming and expensive. The person doing the bagging retrieves a bag from a stack, often under a counter, normally opens it by a quick motion of the arm causing air to catch in the bag and distend it, and then sets the bag upright on the counter. In the case of double bagging operations, a second bag must be opened in the same manner and then inserted inside the first bag to provide extra strength. The merchandise, e.g. groceries, is then placed into the open bag and the filled bags are slid across the counter so that the customers can put their arms around the middle of the bags and carry them out. Often, moisture absorption from the products contained within the heavily ladened bags will weaken the bottoms thereof, tending to cause them to separate or tear.
Although the general concept of packaging items in plastic bags is well known, prior art attempts to use such a concept to package merchandise in an environment such as, for example, that encountered at a modern grocery store check-out counter have, for the most part, met with little success. Thin plastic bags are very limp in nature and this characteristic not only adversely effects the loading operation, but any attempt to carry such a bag, loaded with groceries, at the mid-portion thereof proves to be very awkward because of the limp film's tendency to allow the upper portion of the bag to fold over, usually with disastrous consequences.
Recent attempts to remedy these deficiencies of plastic bags have included the provision on the bag of handles adjacent to the mouth of the bag. This has helped to alleviate the carrying problem, but the loading operation has remained a problem because of the difficulties attendant in loading a limp plastic bag which is not self-supporting. Elaborate devices have been used to open and support the empty bags, such as blowers which fill the bag with air and vacuum systems which hold the walls of the bag apart and upright, but these can be expensive, require substantial redesign and modification of check-out counters and are subject to mechanical breakdown in heavy use. Although semi-rigid plastic films, such as vinyl, high density polyethylene and high modulus laminar structures formed therefrom, are available and could be used to construct bags which are self-supporting, the cost of such material is far beyond the relative costs of paper packaging materials and therefore, although a potential solution, it is one which is economically unattractive.
However, in recent years, attempts have been made to provide an efficient loading apparatus which utilizes plastic bags having handles adjacent to the mouth thereof. Particularly, packaging systems have been designed to be incorporated into the check-out counter to provide greater ease of use to the operator. Normally, foodstuffs and articles purchased by consumers are placed onto the counter which may have a scanner capability for reading Universal Product Code markings. The typical packaging system has a large frame which shapes the plastic bags which are opened and suspended therein. The bag is supported by this structure during filling and can be removed, when full, relatively easily by the operator.
These attempts at providing an efficient apparatus for the loading of bags, although somewhat effective, have created problems in the packaging system art. Particularly, the structures which are to be incorporated into the check-out counter, require a relatively large amount of space to support each bag, thereby necessitating overly large counter tops. These counter tops make it extremely difficult for the operator to reach items purchased, for the scanning operation, because the operator must reach and bend over the partially full bags held within the large bag frames to grasp the items to be scanned. By extending over the bags the operator's body oftentimes strikes the counter top structure potentially causing slight injury and often causing great inconvenience to the check-out counter operator. It is these problems to which the present invention is directed.
None of the prior art, of which Orem U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,170 is typical, shows or even suggests the apparatus as described herein as a solution to the aforementioned problems.
As illustrated in Orem U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,170 an apparatus is provided for dispensing and holding individual plastic bags in an open position for loading. Support enclosures having a bottom and upstanding sidewalls, all of which are to be incorporated into the check-out counter, are provided to support all the sides of the plastic bag which is to be filled in a grocery environment. As stated previously, this patent teaches the use of a support apparatus which, although effective, is cumbersome to the operator.
Unlike the prior art, the present invention provides a wire frame structure which does not have to be incorporated into the check-out counter but on the contrary, can easily be attached to the ends or sides thereof. This provides much thinner, and consequently less costly, counters which minimize check-out costs while simultaneously maximizing store space. Further, the present invention provides a frame structure which has a resilient hinge member capable of swingingly moving in response to contact with the operator's body. By resiliently displacing the structure the operator can easily reach over the bags and easily grasp any items on the top of the counter because the frame will not cause injury as would be the case if the stationary structure shown in the prior art were attached to the counter top.